1. lama has *some* skillz... but his New-Agey students are all f**kn idiots.2. Classic hard qigong demos3. Total scam4. Shi Ming has skills. But he ain't teaching his "students" nothing. All dive monkeys and Andrew the American "student" is a drop kick. Even a white belt judoka would be able to demonstrate at least passable technique with that ippon.

Harlan,all these "chi wars" are started by people who don't know anything about it, don't believe in it, and are too lazy to go get some training to see if what they're "against" exists or not. They can't learn it in 5 minutes or google it and get the information they need, so it's "bunk" to them.

We have Aikido students all the time that take months or years to ever understand what ki is and how to use it. Just to save time, we're changing the name of Aikido to "Ai-that stuff that doesn't exist- do"... then, we'll change the training to only use strength. When the techniques don't work, we'll say... "try this... ". They still won't understand it, but at least the techniques will work again...

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What man is a man that does not make the world a better place?... from "Kingdom of Heaven"

Quote:crapola. I'm not saying I dont believe in Chi/Ki. But no way can it be used as a legitimate force in fighting someone in the chaos in fighting.

That's a contradiction isn't it? Crapola => you don't believe. So you're not saying you don't believe, you're just not sure.

So when you say "no way it can be used...", you really mean to say "this is beyond my level of comprehension and ability".... let's be honest. Beliefs have nothing to do with qi. Everyone and all living things have qi (in the context of what we're really talking about). The issue is "how much?". Inanimate objects (like calligraphy for e.g.) can be imbued with qi (as in vibrancy and vitality from a highly contextual and abstract POV) - but that's somewhat misleading and beyond the scope of this discussion, I think.

If you can't apply this in a semi-static format, obviously applying it in a dynamic format is going to be next to impossible.

FWIW, the "soft qi" tricks exhibited by the lama and Shi Ming are easily demonstrable. I can do it - but not to the same extent. I can also show someone how to do it in a few minutes. Whether they can then do it independently is up to them to figure it out. I'm certain a few others here who can do it - and much better than I. Bear in mind it is a body "trick", and only intended to demonstrate that the person has *some* skills.

So dive bunnies (i.e. the silly hopping actions by the recipients) aside, if you know how to apply it in a semi-static context, the jump to applying it in a martial context is a very short leap.

If you look closely at the first video, at the end with the lama and the old lady, the lama is "helping" her do it. Ignore the silly hopping and falling over by the receiver - that only serves to demonstrate he has no viable structure. So, whoever made the video either has no idea what is really happening or deliberately attempted to portray something other than what was really happening.

There were a few instances on that first video, where the lama has this bored or bemused look on his face - I'm guessing from the extravagant reactions by his "students".

So instead of looking at the uke's silly reactions, which are by no means any indication or intended proof of qi, look at what the person applying it is doing. The subtleties are all hidden in plain sight.